The headset wars: Why it's Apple's to lose

[Music] two Tech Titans offering different price points different specs and most importantly different versions of the future of virtual reality Quest 3 is it's the most powerful headset that we have ever shipped an entirely new AR platform with a revolutionary new product call them headsets ski goggles face computers 2024 is turning out to be the year of virtual reality with apple and meta duking it out [Music] what don't look down don't look down now this is an office this is incredible this week on Tech check why the headset battle is apples to lose apple and meta see their headsets as having way different functions in society meta's big bet is on the metaverse even changing its name to reflect that back in 2021 I am proud to announce that starting today our company is now meta mark zuer ber envisions a whole new world one where we could live our entire lives in the metaverse you'll probably have a photorealistic avatar for work a stylized one for hanging out and maybe even a fantasy one for gaming you're going to be able to bring things from the physical world into the metamers almost any type of media that can be represented digitally photos videos art music movies books games you name it so that's really where he centered his virtual reality headset The Meta Quest and maybe because this was during Co he also tried to pitch it as a substitute for inperson interactions the feeling of presence this is the defining quality of the metaverse you're going to really feel like you're there with other people you'll see their facial expressions you'll see their body language after party passes yes you'd put one on to watch a concert with friends play pingpong like a shop workout even his vision of work was about being in a virtual office imagine if you could be at the office without the commute and when you're ready to share what you've been working on you can present it as if you're right there with the team but that kind of lifestyle change is a huge ask for consumers especially when being in the metaverse it still isn't actually that great he's getting dragged on the internet for how ugly the graphics of this game are Fortune calling it an international laughing stock slate labeling the look so stupid and Forbes asking does Mark Zuckerberg not understand how bad his metaverse is and wearing the headsets for long periods might even make you feel sick that was so much time in Avatar meetings my eyes hurt and my head hurts plus the metaverse only works if your network of friends and co-workers also Buys in so if you want to play poker with your friends in virtual reality all of them also need meta headsets so that's meta pitch let's compare it to Apples they show someone sitting alone in a room looking at photos watching watching a movie meditating a much more personal Vision that is essentially an extension of things that you already do on your phone Apple's vision of the future of work it's just a higher resolution laptop with more screens the web comes to life at Fantastic scale text is crisp and easy to read social interactions they also seem to have less friction you can FaceTime with someone who joins on their phone hi hey hi could you rece instead of needing another headset someone start talking to you you can look at them and they'll kind of just fade into view so that was also something that was just kind of unbelievable easier integration into a normal routine versus A Whole New World in the metaverse Apple also knows that it's introducing a technology that is in its first iterations that consumers are just getting used to and that difference in messaging is being felt by consumers also I thought it was pretty cool where they showed the lady on the on the on the plane who put these on and put the the earphones in and and right and I said well you can already do that on on The Meta thing and I said well the meta sucks because they don't Market this the right way if you can actually do that Apple has two other important advantages over meta the first is its ecosystem even connect your Mac simply by looking at it turning a 13-in screen into a giant display most people who buy the vision Pro they will already own Apple devices adding another just lets all of them work together meta doesn't have that same Hardware Edge second Apple owns its supply chain The Vision Pro uses Apple's proprietary software in custom silicon whereas meta relies on Google's Android system and Qualcomm chips Apple has spent a lot of time you know finessing the hardware the semiconductors the the entire like physical device looks much more polished and elevated compared to what meta has put out in the Market Apple has been in hardware for decades it's built up crucial relationships with manufacturers up and down the supply chain and it has a retail footprint of more than 500 stores for users to actually try out the headset for themselves but perhaps the most telling most reviewers who have tried both they say apple is Leaps and Bounds ahead by far this is the best virtual or augmented reality headset out there this is something that has not been seen in in headsets that I've used and I've used all of them it was unlike anything I had experienced inside of any type of VR AR headset because it's like just the apple way of course that all comes with a huge caveat The Vision Pro is seven times more expensive than the latest meta headset $3,500 compared to just 500 for the quest 3 so is it seven times better you can buy an iPhone an iPad and a a laptop for that 3500 some say no the camera quality is obviously not at the level of reality but it wasn't with the Apple Pro either if reality is a 10 out of 10 The Vision Pro is an 8.5 out of 10 and The Meta Quest is a 7 out of 10 it's amazingly good there's another big hurdle for Apple that has become clear for a device that is all about media consumption The Vision Pro will not have some of the most popular streaming apps when it launches YouTube and Spotify are joining Netflix saying they will not offer dedicated apps for Apple's Vision Pro headset and instead are directing customers to use their websites instead Apple has long had a fraught relationship with some developers who take issue with a 30% cut that Apple takes on inapp transactions the reason this is coming out or at least getting announced so early but it's not coming out till next year is to give this window for developers to start developing their own apps and making cool things for this headset to do that are way more interesting and way more functional at a time when users are still deciding whether to Shell out for such an expensive device the lack of key app that could spell trouble especially if it's YouTube and Netflix but developers issues with apple goes even deeper than App Store policies an age-old tug-of war between Macs versus PCS hello I'm a Mac and I'm a PC iOS versus Android the gatekeeper issue Apple likes to have total control over the apps that are allowed on their systems with strict standards and guidelines for users that might mean using an iPhone or an iPad is simple clean and intuitive but for for developers it's been called a set of handcuffs that limits creativity and learning potential when critic asks of the Vision Pro how great would it be for this to fail one Bloomberg columnist puts it this way it feels like the Mac versus PC battles of the 1990s and the 2000s Steve Jobs offered Sleek hardware and software but it was Bill Gates who taught the world how to use a computer by making it accessible and affordable so if we're comparing Steve Jobs and apple to Bill Gates and Microsoft who won well the question answers itself both did they're the two most valuable companies in the world both worth more than $3 trillion they just appeal to different markets so could the same fate be true for these headsets could both meta and apple win but another possible outcome here neither win what if consumers never get used to wearing something on their face all the time instead the age of AI gives way to pocket sized devices with the syst like the Humane pin rabbit R1 or just an app on your phone what is undeniably true though apple and meta are some of the first movers attempting this next platform shift when the first smartphone came out it weighed 2 and 1 12 lbs it was 8 in long it cost $4,000 and it took 10 hours to charge for 30 minutes of talk time and we see how that evolve they're all part of this transition to a more personalized you know computing experience which is tailored for us headsets are likely to get lighter cheaper have longer battery life and maybe look more like normal glasses the big question for investors is the investment worth it is Apple meta or some other company able to turn this Niche quirky product into the next Computing [Music] platform [Music]

Channel: CNBC Television

Views: 330,046

Keywords: app, business news, cnbc, digital, disrupt, funding, innovation, investors, nasdaq, nyse, online, silicon valley, startup, stock market, tech, techcheck, technology, venture, wall street

Id: ndeVLCz3P2Q

Length: 9min 39sec (579 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 26 2024